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Oscar Piastri Admits McLaren Lacks Pace to Challenge Leading Mercedes on Pure Merit

Posted : 31 May 2026

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri has admitted that his team is still on the back foot in their pursuit of championship frontrunners Mercedes. The Australian racer revealed that the team cannot currently secure Grand Prix victories on pure performance merit. However, he remains optimistic that the papaya squad is not too far away from unlocking the required speed to challenge at the front.

The admission follows a highly challenging weekend at the Canadian Grand Prix for the Woking-based outfit. McLaren chose a risky strategy by starting both cars on intermediate tyres on a rapidly drying Montreal track. This tactical error forced early pit stops, ruining their chances of a strong result. Lando Norris later retired from the race due to a severe gearbox failure.

Piastri's individual race worsened when he collided with Williams driver Alex Albon at the hairpin. The incident earned the Australian a ten-second time penalty for causing a collision, relegating him to an eleventh-place finish. Despite the lack of points, Piastri noted that a substantial upgrade package brought to recent races offers hope for the rest of the campaign.

The disappointing weekend has had a major impact on the Constructors' Championship standings. McLaren now sits third in the team standings, trailing leaders Mercedes by 113 points. They also trail second-placed Ferrari by 41 points after suffering three non-starts across the opening five rounds of the season.

Piastri emphasized that the team must complete extensive homework to extract more power and speed from their current package. He explained that matching the track position of Mercedes is possible but maintaining it over a full race distance remains difficult. The team will now look to refine their upgrades ahead of the next round to close the deficit.

 

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